Old meets new in Cambridgeshire village
Town with old roots benefitting from Waterco technology
"Never in 25 years has the pool water looked so good"
says Mrs Philips
The United Kingdom’s village of Great Shelford on the outskirts of Cambridge, home of the famous Cambridge University, host of the annual Midsummer Fair and Shakespeare Festival, and well known for having typically wet and cool English weather most year round.
While Cambridge is known for its vast student population, it is also the fastest growing area in the UK for high tech businesses and the home of many start-ups and spin offs from the university. This has meant a growing demand for housing for families moving into the area – in particular, the villages around Cambridge are seeing a lot of development and increased traffic.
Nestled in the outskirts of Great Shelford just outside of Cambridge lives a small family, who have enjoyed the benefits of life with a backyard pool for over 25 years. The Philips family also enjoys the benefits of being close enough to the city to cycle in – however, there is an increasingly busy road to the city nearby, with extensive building work and development constantly in mid construction.
Due to increased air pollution, pool owner Mrs Philips decided to refurbish and refit all equipment for her 50m³ in-ground pool in mid-2015.
“I opted to have a new liner fitted, as well as a completely new range of pool equipment, as my previous equipment couldn’t handle the dust produced by nearby construction sites, as well as the debris created in fields nearby when they are being farmed,”
Mrs Philips explains.
“The clarity and quality of the pool water suffered – it always seemed dirty and never looked as clean as I would have liked. I even considered having the pool filled in, as the maintenance was just too time consuming and I was beginning to wonder if it was time to just give up on owning a pool.”
Tackling ineffective filtration
The sand filtration system Mrs Philips had installed previously was unable to filter out the super fine particles of dust from the nearby fields and building work, leading to frequent occurrences of build up inside the filter.
This increased the need for backwashing, which was a both time consuming maintenance task and a huge waste of water. So when she was considering a new set of equipment for her pool, Mrs Philips took a great deal of time looking at her options.
“I spoke with several pool companies and told them my problem and was told about the new media that was available – Waterco’s glass pearls,” she says.
“It seems a lot has changed from when I had the pool built 25 years ago! After checking the facts online, I realised I could make my life easier and enjoy having a pool again.
“A friend of mine has used Waterco’s glass pearl media with some fantastic results, so I have seen with my own eyes how beautiful her pool looks – this definitely helped me with the final decision.”
Mrs Philips also liked the fact that Waterco had a local base in the UK. Plus, the Micron sand filter, one of the other solutions she chose, came with a 10-year warranty and had a unique lateral design, which kept water costs and chemical costs down without sacrificing good results.
She decided on the Waterco Glass Pearl media, Micron side mounted sand filter and a Lacronite pump – all of which only took a few hours to install into her newly relined pool.
“The water changed overnight and that was over four months ago now,” Mrs. Philips says. “We have gone through the harvest season, plus some building work of our own and managed to keep the water crystal clear throughout. I could not be happier!
“Never in 25 years has the pool water looked so good - even the neighbours have commented how crystal clear the water is and have asked what I have done. I would recommend Waterco glass pearls and Micron sand filter to anyone wanting crystal clear water with the minimum amount of effort.”
“This pool is a big part of my lifestyle – I use it every day myself for exercise, and my children and grandchildren also use it regularly. These products make maintenance much easier, so I have more time to spend doing the things I love.”
Glass pearls area a new generation of pool filtation media, at only 0.6mm by 0.8mm in size,
the narrow particle size of the Glass Pearls enables in-depth superior filtration.
Micron side mount fibreglass filter filled with Waterco Glass Pearl filter media and a Lacronite pump.
In a snapshot:
Glass Pearl Media
The next generation in filter media - these chemically inert glass pearls can filter out dirt particles below 3 microns in size. The spherical shape also results in low friction levels, reducing the need to backwash and saving pool owners both time and precious water. Plus its high purity means very little backwashing is required to cleanse the filter media prior to commissioning the filter.
Glass pearls are also safer for swimmers if they were to ever leak from the filter into the pool, because of their smooth and spherical shape.
Micron Sand Filter
Waterco’s range of Micron sand filters are designed for durability and efficiency, with a fiberglass reinforced polyester resin construction and the latest controlled filament winding machine. They use ‘depth filtration’ to drive dirt through the filter bed, allowing only cleansed water to pass through the filter’s laterals.
Micron Sand Filters are easy to maintain and clean, with a monthly backwash as easy as turning the Multiport lever from filter to backwash. The sand media also does not need to be replaced nearly as frequently as its cartridge counterpart.
Lacronite Pump
The Lacronite Pump is perfect for larger size domestic swimming pools, as its consistently high level of performance allows it to deal with a huge volume of water, plus the dirt and debris that comes with it.
This pump is designed to save money, energy and time, with the speed settings allowing for reduced water flow without compromising the effectiveness of the filter.